in my pre-strip, early toon-years
 “CORNER OF THE SKY!”
was the name my cartoons went by -  inspired from the Broadway Musical
“PIPPIN”
a fun and lively stage romp 
about a young prince’s search for himself.

my-then-toons were written from the perspective of my 
metaphysical travels and explorations.  
with considerable merit and minimal substance,
I soon felt that my toons were missing “something”;

a something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
translated: “let’s keep life (and my art) superficial and airy-fairy”
well I didn’t mind the “fairy” so much,
it was the “airy” that was starting to get to me!!!
 
when I at last....I gave myself permission to get 
political in my cartoons
a real shift came over my art and me as an artist!

this permission slip
let me put my “real feelings” into my work, 
which made a world of difference in my “authenticity” as an artist.
finally I could give my toons “that edge” they needed!!!
 
with AIDS still raging out of control around me,
I strongly re-evaluated my metaphysical-spiritual beliefs.
through some extremely painful soul-searching,
I had no other choice but to pull a major
SURRENDER DOROTHY!!!

"accepting life on life’s terms"
was one of the most difficult lessons for me to learn…
(just ask Rev. Kathy Hearn)
I was changing....OUCH!!!...along with my resistance to it.
my art needed to shift along with me!
 
my art desperately needed to take on a different tone….
life just wasn’t matching the pictures that my metaphysics depicted.
(DANGER - DANGER....DRAMA APPROACHING!!!) 

the politics of inhumanity and the Reagan-Daddy Bush years 
(don't get me started!!!)
was pulling me in very different direction.
I had no other choice but to respond.
 
“CORNER OF THE SKY” 
needed to change along with me which means redesign…..
I need to talk about life!….MY LIFE!!!
 
so back to the drawing board I went to bring REAL LIFE into my work.
the all-bird-cast of
“CORNER OF THE SKY” 
was recast with only "bucky" remaining. 

why do birds suddenly disappear
(kinda like “Close to You” in reverse)
and the cast of characters became a whole new 
menagerie of species and personalities:

along with bucky this time was….
tarana: a dinosaur with a radio talk show
violet: a love-lorn flower 
a love-lorn flower  
cosmo: an advice-giving spirit
an advice-giving spirit
mona diamonds: a Hollywood gossip-loving cow

so back to the drawing board with this expanded concept
and a completely different style of design…
artistic license I believe it is called.
(looking back…way too much license…but oh well…..I  liked it then)
 
introducing.........
“such is LIFE!”
(one of my favorite catch-phrases at that time)

sample toons







in preparation for the syndicates…..
i decided to do a little test marketing.
so I threw a duck-social for my friends and colleagues
to evaluate and rate their favorite toons.
only the A-rated toons (along with just a couple of my favorites)
would be presented to the major syndicates.
 
putting together a BIG presentation 
(bigger than needed in retrospect)
for the national syndicates consideration.

long story into short….
 I got slammed big-time by all the major syndicates
(from United Features, Tribune Media to Creator’s Syndicate)
I was quickly piling up a pile of very impersonal rejection letters
that I took very hard and very very personally!!!
 
in retrospect, I can see how and why they rejected my work.
you couldn’t have convinced me back then…but now it is
PAINFULLY OBVIOUS!!!!
(was I wordy wordy wordy or what????…..)
and at the same time
…blushing with embarrassment…..
it has led me forward to who I am as an artist today!!!....

BUT MY NERVES MA-A-A-A-A-A-A-ARY!!!!
 
having that “seed of tenacity” raging within me, 
I was not about to give up…not at all!!!…
so again back to the drawing board to re-work it one more time.

through soul-searching and selected constructive criticism
I decided to give the entire strip to bucky,
say goodbye to the rest of the cast
and retire them to the cartoon graveyard.

I then decided to give "bucky" a bit more of the 
sophistication that he deserved.
I extended his name to honor the man that inspired him...
"buckminster fuller"

"buckminster fuller"
was a man of incredible artistry, insight and vision.
if you are not familiar with the name....you are familiar with his many creations. 
one of which he is most famous for is the...
"geodesic dome" 
 his design of interlocking triangles was his vision of the 
architecture of the future.
I am sure you have seen his influence in many architectural expressions
(think Mickey Mouse standing on Epcot).
as a visionary he was often misunderstood and taken for an old fool....
(but aren't most visionary in their time)
his inspiration reached far and wide, even to music of
Lennon and McCartney in the song
"FOOL ON THE HILL"
as written in honor and tribute of buckminster fuller.

so with this inspiration.....
"buckminster duck"
(not minister...as in reverend...but....minster as in buck!)

“such is LIFE!” 
became buckminster’s own strip
another re-design and another new look for my duck-toons.
 
sample toons:

some "duck-toons” do travel with me...



 
with another (bigger than life) pitch to the syndicates…
YES!!!…
history did repeat itself - even more devastatingly than before.
this was not getting any prettier and neither was I....!!!
 

this led to a major turn-a-bout in my toon-career....